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Chor Leoni Men's Choir Performs the Music of Stan Rogers

Vancouver's Chor Leoni Men’s Choir embarked on a 1997 bi-coastal tour entitled Canadian Safari, with performances in Vancouver, on Salt Spring Island, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. To make it a truly Canadian experience, Artistic Director Diane Loomer, C.M., set out to find a wide array of Canadian folksongs. It quickly became apparent that no such program could be considered complete unless it included the music of Stan Rogers.

This presented somewhat of a challenge: How do you take the distinctively solo sound of Stan Rogers’ songs and translate them into a choral idiom while remaining true to their folk roots? Ms. Loomer turned to well-know choral arranger (as well as Chor Leoni member) Ron Smail, for this somewhat daunting task. He came through with flying colours, providing arrangements for four of Stan Rogers’ classics: Fogarty’s Cove, Northwest Passage, Barrett’s Privateers, and Make and Break Harbour. Ron’s arrangements of "Fogarty’s Cove" and "Make and Break Harbour" are available from Cypress Music.

Initially there was some fear that the choir was bringing coals to Newcastle, but they were quickly disproved as audiences on both coasts loved these arrangements of Stan Rogers’ songs as sung by Canada’s premiere male choir! Frequently audience members sang along, and often were moved to tears. There was no doubt that they had to be recorded.

Canadian Safari, the CD on the Skylark label, has since gone on to become a classical CD best seller requiring several production runs. It remains Skylark’s top selling CD.

Ms. Loomer viewed the opportunity to record these arrangements as not only adding to both the legacy of Stan Rogers’ music and folk music, but also as an addition to the greater world of Canadian music as a whole. They provided an excellent opportunity to showcase the communicative powers of a great male choir when presented with a powerful song.

In June 2004 the choir once again sang a concert entitled Canadian Safari, drawing upon more of the vast wealth of Canadian folksongs available. Although this concert (and subsequent CD, Canadian Safari 2) focuses more on the Western portion of the country and British Columbia in particular, the program included four more Stan Rogers’ tunes as arranged by Smail. Canadian Safari 2 will be released in October 2004 and will feature The Mary Ellen Carter, The Nancy, Field Behind the Plow, and Watching the Apples Grow.

Posted by raisedeyebrow on July 24, 2004 at 2:13 PM
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